chiefwiggumpi

Please bear with me as i've finally got round to writing my first Trip Report.

The 'trip' involved the following;

1. MAN - LHR on BA Domestic
2. LHR - CDG on BA Club Europe
3. ORY - JFK on Openskies Biz Bed
4. JFK - LAS on Delta Economy
5. LAS - JFK on Delta Economy
6. JFK - LHR on BA Club World
7. LHR - MAN on BA Domestic

As you can see we took in a fair few flights and sights as we globe trotted.

Ill probably keep the report in my style so bear with me as i might rant/rave/praise instead of sticking to facts. I might even stick in a few pics!

1. BA 1389 MAN - LHR 0940
Aircraft type A320 G-EUUY

So the trip started in MAN. Parked car on site long stay good price and thought the ease of being on site would help with travelling time. Walked into T3 and it was chaos...it was Bank Holiday but the queues were all the way back into the BA desks but we managed to get through and check in. We had pre selected 5A and 5B as we had Y tickets from MAN - LHR. We had also pre selected seats for our connecting Club Europe flight seats 3A and 3B. As we checked in i asked where the lounge was only to be told "Ill wait and see that youre eligble first shall we". Hmmmm okay knew we were as on Y tickets so no issues at all on that one.

Luckily we were supplied fastrack on our BP's which was a god send as the queues were pretty bad. Headed straight for the BA lounge wasnt sure if it would be any good but i can honestly say it was fantastic. Clean, spacious, airy, lots of light, good choice of drinks both non/alcoholic. Food was okay aswell. Staff were friendly aswell. Champagne, few breakfast snacks and of course time for a quick Vodka and Coke and i was more than happy. It just seemed to fly by.










Soon time for boarding to CDG. Take off was late around half an hour. Flight time was short around 40 minutes only time for a quick drink/nuts and then time for landing at T5 LHR.

We arrived at gate A1 so a quick walk to connections, up into T5 and straight Galleries South our usual lounge when at T5 via the AMEX bureau which after the assistant wouldnt shut up about his holiday i wanted to enjoy our meaning we only had an hour left before we had to head to the gate (And never got my BAA world points either!). It was pretty busy not as calm as MAN but then again i never expected it would. We settled for a quick bit and of course i was straight for the grey goose lemon and diet coke.....i knew that would help me!!

2. BA 314 LHR - CDG 1240 Club Europe
Aircraft type A319 G-EUPE


Time for boarding seemed to fly by and soon ready to take our seats for our next flight. Priority seemed to work well for Club passengers and no issues at all with ramming bags in overhead lockers (unlike our DL flights!). More champagne offered and soon we were waiting for two missing passengers. They boarded at the last minute and sat in seats 3D and F. No issues with that until CC started talking between themslves and after a minute asked flustered couple "Can i see your boarding passes please?". They showed them and were instantly told "Sir these are business class seats youre further down the back". Male half wasnt happy, female half looked drunk (says me!) he set off to find his seat as opposed to just sitting in one that took his fancy. Female got up and said "Oh thanks i guess ill get the cases then", male half replied "Well thats your f*&^king job so get on with it". Nice....oh and see you i thought! And of course i laughed...

Take off was an hour late...hit midday traffic at LHR i could see planes from all directions all waiting to hit the runway....it seemed to take forever probably half an hour or so but in the end we took off an hour late.

Another meal served with Pommery of course....it was quite nice actually. Feta salad and coffee dessert v nice. Again a quick flight nothing remarkble.



Landed at CDG T5.....then the fun started. I had planned to get the RER train to Gard Du Nord followed by taxi as i expected a taxi into Paris would take forever. As Mrs C is expecting i never thought about the logistics on this one for some reason. My god CDG is a) A rubbish airport b)T5 is massive and it took forever to get to the right platform. Amusing now not at the time. We soon headed into Paris and i have to admit first impressions werent great. All the way in we saw grafitti on all buildings/bridges/trains etc. That said finally got into Gard Du Nord by this time we realised MAN - LHR - CDG wasnt such a good idea...oh well!

Taxi to our home for next few days. Le Grey Hotel.

V nice, modern hotel, tiny rooms even with our being an executive one below their top room it was tiny! V nice though. Staff were lovely, v friendly and helpful and even brought us a bottle of champagne as it was our wedding anniversary the day before! Highly recommend hotel and area.



Few random pics of paris!









Soon we were getting ready for our next trip to JFK.

chiefwiggumpi

3. BA (OPENSKIES) 8005 ORY - JFK Biz Bed
Aircraft type B757

We decided to make the most of the experience and with Paris traffic being like it is we decided to head to the airport early on this leg. No trains and no lugging bags! I learnt our lesson v quickly

Arrived at ORY for our check in



It was v quick, efficient and friendly, seats had been pre selected a week before so v happy with ours 2D and F. Advised of access to the lounge and told if we wanted to stay in their we woule be escorted to the aircraft. Good start and I wondered if the journey would continue in the same vain. No shopping planned so we headed to the Iberia VIP Lounge. It was okay. Staff were average. Of course it started with....Pommery...Mrs C despite her pregnancy cant resist after she spied a full size bottle in the fridge!^



Snacks were okay

Decided to spend our last twenty euro note on the famous laudree macroon stand as we walked to the gate.



Soon we headed to the gate and after standing towards the priority section we were asked to board which duly followed by a scrum around the priority passengers leaving it a bit useless. Wasnt overly bothered until Mrs C was kindly selected for another bag search which took forever. I wasnt impressed with the staff at this one as i wanted to board first and get some pics....oh well!

We boarded and turned left into what was an almost seperate Biz Bed cabin. Shown our seats got myself settled and admired my home for the next 8 1/2hrs. I have to say first impressions were yes the cabin is old, yes the plane is old but do you know what i dont care its quiet, comfortable, felt like and it was lots of room around me. Plenty of legroom, seat was comfy, yes its not CW lie flat but i was impressed. As i admired the view of ORY which i have to say is far better than CDG i saw another EC...persume it was the overnight flight. I also saw that i had 5 windows that i could see out of....great for anoroaks like me! Of course i had to take some pics.....







Obligatory feet shot! Im 6 ft tall and there was bags of room....



We set off and the roar of the RR engines was a nice noise. Yes i'd had a few glasses but i can honestly say i was v comfortable. The CC were US obviously on the return journey. For the Biz Bed cabin there were 3 staff and only 10 passengers....this was going to be fun! Soon handed a personal Ipad with i can confirm no battery issues at all even after 8 hrs it still had 60 odd% left and i was using it a lot.

Also handed our menu....








We headed up the over north coast of France skirting the channel islands...for Uncle T8191 i did wave!!!!



More drinks and food followed




Amuse bouche....avocado thing...v nice lots of coriander as you can see



Starter - salad....tasty



Veal Main....it was shockingly poor tasted like rubber! Didnt fancy the cod so kept quiet



Mrs C opted for the cod i had a bite it was nice



Dessert - Tiramisu. V nice



Dessert for Mrs C!

chiefwiggumpi

After prompltly stuffing my face on macaroons i sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the flight whilst seeing a few quirky things so had to take more pics of course!






Liked the number of windows i could see out of



Noticed an AA criss crosing us over the atlantic till it overtook us





Quick bite to eat a while later



Soon time for landing.....

All in all i was v impressed with our first EC flight. Service was great, staff friendly and drinks kept being topped up as they passed through the cabin all the time. I would definitely recommend it the only downside of course is Ex Paris.....

BahrainLad

Great report! Food looks a notch above normal CW, at least menu-wise.

chiefwiggumpi

4. DL 1429 JFK - LAS 0810
Aircraft type 737-800


After a quick few hours rest in a motel near JFK we had to get up some 8hrs later to get back to JFK for our early flight to LAS with DL economy. I opted for cost v comfort thinking the trip would already cost a lot. Thats another mistake i made! I think the best way i can describe it is you get what you pay for. No issues as such just cramped. Stupidly didnt fly AA so dont know what their Y is like. DL was okay. A few soft drinks over the next few hours, in seat entertainment which was free was a nice surprise, paid for WIFI was good aswell.

It was all worth it however as we arrived at LAS. Met by a nice man!



Our stay at the Mandarin Oriental was nothing short of amazing.

Great views, brilliant staff, spotlessly clean, modern hotel with nice zen vibe and music as well as jasmine being pumped around....all in all a v relaxing time there...highly recommend it

Strip view room...













Of course had to visit cheescake factory



Too many pics too many sights....great time was had!



Sadly had to return back to blighty though not after spending 3 days in NYC!

5. DL 2032 LAS - JFK 0705
Aircraft type 737-800

Early start, v tired nothing remarkable to report. It was 5 1/2hrs of my life, i had oxygen, a seat and the odd glass of water...i refer to my previous comment you get what you pay for.

3 days at Trump SOHO. Our second time so as usual a nice hotel in the heart of Soho.

Few random pics from NYC.

chiefwiggumpi

6. BA172 JFK - LHR 2140 Club World
Aircraft type 747 G-BYGE

No pics im afraid. We had pre paid for lower deck 20A and B. Good seats except. As people will know i wasnt impressed by the sleeper service on this flight...see here

Arrived at LHR an hour late great....straight to connections and on to Galleries South before a quick stop at the Elemis Spa for a shower.

7. BA1390 MAN - LHR
Aircraft type A320 i believe didnt catch reg

Booked on our Y tickets we had already pre selected same seats at the time of booking... 5E and F. Again quick hop after another hour delay at LHR due to the amount of aircraft queing to take off!



I rest my case! All in all a quick flight nothing to note except usual BA domestic standard, good service and efficient.

So to finally round off the report Paris - Las Vegas - New York April 2013. Great wedding anniversary especially with "Bump" as well....

Please dont slate pics im not a photographer!!!!! Enjoy!

Herman ze German

interesting. I did a Detroit-LAX leg in DL Y recently. luckily on that route they have a widebody 767 but we had to pay for Movies - I believe TV was free. didn't bother with the wifi and was forgotten on the second drinks round (but then having a lengthy Y leg from time to time makes you appreciate CW even more)

I like the MO in LAS - seems great!

Swiss Tony

The photos are great (as is the report)! All i'd say is some captions would be a nice addition ^

trust77

Thanks for sharing and LOVE your photos.

Especially LOVED your photo of the macarons...whether im in Paris, NYC, or Tokyo, Laduree is a MUST-DO on my list ^

chiefwiggumpi

Thanks MO was great....service was extremely attentive...highly recommend it!


Thanks and noted....must try harder


Thanks Trust77....yeah we had laudree in the tea rooms in paris (You must go there the food is brilliant if dear!), at ORY when we spied the cart, and sure enough following coffee a huge box of laudree just for Biz Bed was distributed till it went! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm^

Sixth Freedom

Thanks for the great TR. ^

Nice to see those old CW seats still clocking up the RPKs.

phunc

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed reading it.

What's the story with Alan from the Hangover? Was it a wax model or a double posing?

FlyerTalker6245

Thanks for posting - really liked the inclusion of Biz bed on openskies - looks good.

haasha

I think you can still find the aircraft registration on flightradar - http://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/BA1390

chiefwiggumpi

Ha ha i know...no CW lie flat but after the broken CW seat on my return i was grateful for the EC flight!

Double posing....theres loads on the strip of all types....transformers etc etc......he was a good double and even spoke like him....then again if he wasnt/didnt then he wouldnt be much of a double i suppose....anyway i liked him!

Thanks...yes its old i get that i knew it but as an experience/cost saving over CW it was great...no complaints at all. Very good staff ratio and seemed to have a great sense of space as i think theres only abouit 20 seats plus loads of windows to look out of unlike the "dormitory" feel sometimes in CW i think. Great addition was new Ipad...worked brilliant far better than the crappy AVOD you sometimes get!

Ah ill check it out...i was pretty tired/bored/jet lagged by then so i will have a look thanks